On Monday, April 27, I filed a public records request with the Tennessee Department of Corrections regarding the state's response to the coronavirus outbreak at the Bledsoe County Correctional Facility and all prisons throughout the state.

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On Monday, May 4, the Tennessee Department of Corrections responded to the request by providing an insufficient amount of documents. The state asked for four weeks until May 31 to produce all other relevant documents.

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This is unacceptable.

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For the sake of public interest, we have released the documents below with three questions the insufficient and incomplete documents raise:

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Why did TDOC wait 29 days to test correctional officers and employees?

Why did TDOC wait an additional nine days to test all BCCX inmates after 13 correctional officers tested positive for COVID-19?

Why do the documents contradict claims made by inmates’ and employees’ families about the lack of sanitary conditions, adequate nutrition, and medical attention for symptomatic persons?

The people of Tennessee deserve the answers to these questions.

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On the advice of counsel, I've reserved my rights to use any means necessary to obtain the full and complete public disclosure of the records pertaining to this incident in a timely and expedited manner.

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As long as God gives me breath, I'll fight for the truth and for justice for each and every family of correctional officers, doctors, nurses, employees, and inmates in Tennessee state prisons.